Snyder man remembers Pearl Harbor

John Roddy's ship, the U.S.S. Tennessee, was sandwiched between the U.S.S. West Virginia and the U.S.S. Arizona when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. (Ray Westbrook/Avalanche-Journal)

John H. Roddy of Snyder remembers that Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941, began like any other weekend in port.

He was an electrician, the controlman for the U.S.S. Tennessee’s propellers in the main drive control area, and he was tending to routine duties.

Then, the Empire of Japan launched its sudden attack on Pearl Harbor and violently opened World War II.

“I ran up the ladder where portholes were still open, and I saw aircraft coming in from the east side with torpedoes hanging down below them.”

He could see the rising sun emblem on the wings and fuselages of the planes, and knew they were Japanese.

At Pearl Harbor, the U.S.S. West Virginia was tied to the Tennessee’s port side, and the doomed U.S.S. Arizona was directly aft, close enough for a sailor to throw a heave line from the fantail of the Tennessee.

“The first explosion on the West Virginia knocked me against the stanchion, and I was dazed for a little bit,” Roddy remembers.

He thinks he must have automatically found his way to his battle station in the main drive control room through the repetition of training and the constant drills for such an emergency.

From his below-deck battle station, Roddy couldn’t see the Arizona explode, but felt and heard it.

“When the magazines blew up on the Arizona, I thought we had been hit again. We had a couple of bomb hits and had been strafed, but when the Arizona blew, from the vibrations on the Tennessee, we felt like we had received another bomb hit.”

Roddy also remembers that he had been among those nearest to a bomb that struck the Tennessee, but didn’t detonate.

“It went between the catapult tracks on Turret 3. Had it exploded, I wouldn’t be here today, because it was right above me in the main drive control room.

“I guess God had something else for me to do, or I would have been gone long ago,” he said.

Statistics from Dec. 7 and following days indicate that 2,403 military personnel were killed in the surprise attack.

For days after the attack, the men who survived were fighting fires and tending to the wounded and dying sailors.

The Tennessee, wedged against the quay by the West Virginia, was unable to move.

“The West Virginia received seven torpedo hits, and she sank to the bottom. By so doing, it just froze us to the quay. We could not budge even with all four screws turning at full speed. We were just dead in the water,” Roddy said.

“I didn’t see a whole lot of the action on Dec. 7, because my general quarters station was in the main drive control room. But I was wearing JV phones and I got the reports all the time from the bridge,” Roddy said.

“As soon as the engineers got steam pressure, we started turning the screws over to move as much of the oil and fire away from the ships as possible. But we couldn’t keep it all away. The oil had ignited, and the Tennessee was burning from the forward mast all the way down.”

He said, “All the personnel on the top side were having to fight the fires as well as everything else. After the attack, we were either at our general quarters stations or fighting fires, making emergency repairs, tending the dead and the wounded.

“That was ongoing for about 72 hours.”

A little later, workers from the repair base at Pearl Harbor blasted the quay so that the Tennessee could move and get emergency repairs.

Although the Pearl Harbor attack was 67 years ago, Roddy’s memories are still vivid.

“We went through hell and back,” he said. “And not only in World War II, but Korea and later. We have been in just one conflict after another.”

He remained in the Navy for 11 years, then transferred to the Air Force, and retired as a master sergeant in 1960.

Roddy said his ship at Pearl Harbor was repaired and returned to service in World War II. Before the war ended he was transferred to a seaplane tender. He served at Guadalcanal and was in major engagements in the Philippines and surrounding areas.

“I had many friends in the Army and Marine Corps, the Army Air Corps and the Navy, and there are very few of them left. Most of them have passed on,” he said.

“Today, I have the greatest appreciation for all of our armed services, and I respect them and their families. I just pray that God will take care of them.”

He also has words of wisdom from 1941 for the nation’s future:

“Remember Pearl Harbor, keep America alert; if we lose our freedom, we will have lost everything.”